Congrats, Houston: We could (should?) be our own state

Artist Neil Freeman redesigned the U.S. to reflect states of equal population, which ended up splitting our beloved Texas into five regions. See what new territories got a piece of the Lone Star State.

Artist Neil Freeman redesigned the U.S. to reflect states of equal population, which ended up splitting our beloved Texas into five regions. See what new territories got a piece of the Lone Star State.

Photo: Neil Freeman

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Our city would, of course, get it's own state and would end up becoming the nation's capital. Probably.

Our city would, of course, get it's own state and would end up becoming the nation's capital. Probably.

Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle

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The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area would become its own state, dubbed Trinity.

The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area would become its own state, dubbed Trinity.

Photo: Jeremy Woodhouse / Getty Images

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Las Vegas will get a slice of Texas, as it joins Amarillo and New Mexico's Albuquerque in forming new state Shiprock.

Las Vegas will get a slice of Texas, as it joins Amarillo and New Mexico's Albuquerque in forming new state Shiprock.

Photo: Dennis Flaherty / Getty Images

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New Orleans would also get a piece of east Texas in forming the new state Atchafalaya, named after a regional river. It would stretch east to Mobile, Ala.

New Orleans would also get a piece of east Texas in forming the new state Atchafalaya, named after a regional river. It would stretch east to Mobile, Ala.

Photo: Juan Silva / Getty Images

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Somehow even Oklahoma City ends up with a stake in the state by taking a chunk out of North Texas and forming the new state, Muskogee.

Somehow even Oklahoma City ends up with a stake in the state by taking a chunk out of North Texas and forming the new state, Muskogee.

Photo: 19697 / Getty Images

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All of Texas' southern border gets its own state, Chinati, with San Antonio as its largest city and El Paso coming in second.

All of Texas' southern border gets its own state, Chinati, with San Antonio as its largest city and El Paso coming in second.

Photo: Darren Abate / Darren Abate/Express-News

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A combination of Austin hipsters, Abilene cowboys and Lubbock farmers, the citizens of Big Thicket will have some interesting politics.

A combination of Austin hipsters, Abilene cowboys and Lubbock farmers, the citizens of Big Thicket will have some interesting politics.

Photo: Don Klumpp / Getty Images

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Congrats, Houston: We could (should?) be our own state

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If the United States were to be redistricted according to population, Houston would end up being its own state, according to a map made by Neil Freeman, an artist and urban planner from New York City.

“The fundamental problem of the electoral college is that the states of the United States are too disparate in size and influence,” Freeman writes on his website. “The largest state is 66 times as populous as the smallest and has 18 times as many electoral votes.”

“This allows for Electoral College results that don’t match the popular vote,” Freeman adds.

His Electoral Reform Map redivides the United States into 50 states of equal population.

By eying this new map, the state formerly known as Texas is now split between six new states, with Houston getting its own state. Shiprock gets Amarillo and a great deal of the southwest, all the way to Reno and Las Vegas. Chinati includes El Paso, San Antonio, and all the way down to Brownsville. Trinity is where Dallas will lie. Big Thicket’s capital city would likely be Austin and now include Shreveport. Atchafalaya would have great food, encompassing as far west as Beaumont, all the way to Mobile, Ala.

Freeman notes that some local governments would experience a shift in state laws and procedures because of the new boundaries. Hopefully gambling would become the norm. No doubt it would be a vital part of each new economy.

Then there would be the arguments over which former part of Texas is the most authentically Texan. Ready-made rivalries. Would it be Big Thicket or Chinati? Houston is Houston. We have all the food, culture, and guns we need, plus Galveston. Maybe our accents would change, too.

Writer Dylan Freeman at the Washington Post’s WonkBlog mentioned the idea that 545 states with Wyoming-sized populations would be fair, “so the Senate is finally geographically representative, large states aren’t underrepresented in the Electoral College, House districts no longer vary widely in population size, and residents of currently-large states have state governments where their voices matter more” but that keeping the country to 50 states would be easier.

Plus a 545 star flag would be a pain to make, not to mention dealing with 545 little governors with plastic smiles each vying for their own federal nickel. The populace would revolt out of aggravation. Come to think of it, the new tax laws would be unholy too.

But the Houston area as its own state is a fanciful idea.

Can I at least be a representative? I won’t break anything and I promise not to tweet or play on Facebook while we are talking about serious stuff. Honest.

Now we have to come up with new state songs, birds, flags, flowers, trees, seals, mammals, dogs, beers, breads, fabrics, fruit …